Topping Up on Pay As You Go: Minimum Top-Up & Available Top-Up Methods

Find out the minimum top-up on each UK network and the available methods for topping up your handset.

In the UK, when you get a Pay As You Go SIM card, the top-up policy might differ depending on your mobile network. For instance, while most mobile networks allow you to top-up £5 each time, some mobile networks will require you to top-up a minimum of £10. On different mobile networks, the available methods for topping up your phone can also differ: for instance, only some mobile networks will allow you to top-up at a cashpoint.

For more information, please click the name of the mobile network for further details on how to top up your handset.

If you’re topping up either by phone, by text or online, you’ll normally need a UK-registered credit card or debit card. Mastercard and Visa are universally accepted, with support for American Express being limited to some networks. Some, but not all, mobile networks will allow you to top-up using a card that’s registered outside the UK.

If you’re topping up with an electronic top-up card or top-up voucher, you can normally go to any retailer displaying the green top-up logo. This will include most UK supermarkets and convenience stores. You can also top-up at mobile phone stores and at your nearest branch of the Post Office. This is the best way of topping-up if you’d like to top-up with cash.

If you’re topping up at a cashpoint (ATM), you’ll need a UK-registered debit card or cash card. You should check to see whether your mobile network will accept a card from your bank (some mobile networks will only accept a card from certain banks).

Pay As You Go: Top-Up Policy By Network

1pMobile

On 1pMobile, the minimum top-up is £10 each time. Importantly, there is also a minimum requirement for you to top-up at least once every 120 days (if you don’t do this, your account will be closed).

Online: At present, the only way to top-up on 1pMobile is online through the 1pMobile website. It’s possible also to set up an “automatic top-up” for each time your balance drops below £2 or each time your account hasn’t been topped up for 120 days. Unfortunately, there are no other top-up methods currently available on 1pMobile.

EE

By phone: You can top-up by calling 150 and choosing the option to top-up.

By text: You can top up by SMS text message once a credit card or debit card has been registered to your account. To do so, send a text message to 150 with CR followed by the last four digits of your registered card number and then the amount you want to top-up by.

Top-up voucher: giffgaff doesn’t offer electronic top-up cards. For this reason, if you aren’t able to top-up online, the only other option is buying a giffgaff top-up voucher. You can do this anywhere you see the green top-up logo (if you aren’t able to find a giffgaff option, you can also use a voucher code for O2).

O2

On O2, there’s a minimum top-up of £10. You can top-up your handset in one of five ways:

By phone: You can top-up by calling 4444 and by following the voice prompt instructions.

Online: You can top-up through O2’s web top-up service. There’s no need to register for an account (all you need to enter is the mobile number and the amount you want to top-up by).

Electronic top-up card: You’ll normally receive an electronic top-up card along with your O2 Pay As You Go handset or SIM card. You can use this card to top-up your account anywhere you see the green top-up logo.

Top-up voucher: If you don’t have your electronic top-up card, you can buy an O2 top-up voucher code.

Cashpoint (ATM): You can top up at any UK cash machine with the green top-up logo.

Tesco Mobile

By phone: You can top-up by calling 4444 and by following the instructions.

Online: You can top-up online at topup.tescomobile.com. You’ll need to register for an account before topping up online.

Electronic top-up card: You should normally receive an electronic top-up card along with your Tesco Mobile handset or SIM card. You can use this top-up card to top-up your account anywhere you see the green top-up logo.

Top-up voucher: You can buy a Tesco Mobile top-up voucher code from Tesco stores in the UK.

Cashpoint (ATM): You can top up at any UK cash machine showing the green top-up logo.

Three

On Three, there is a minimum top-up of £5 but this is only available for online top-ups. For all other methods of topping up on Three, a minimum top-up of £10 will apply.

By phone: You can top-up by calling 4444.

Online: You can top-up via Three’s web top-up service. There’s no need to register for this service. To save time in the future, you can alternatively top-up through your My3 account (registration required but this will allow you to save your card details for the future)

Top-up voucher: You can buy a Three top-up voucher code anywhere you see the green top-up logo.

Cashpoint (ATM): You can top-up at a Barclays or HSBC cash machine if you have a debit card that’s been issued from one of six UK banks (Barclays, HSBC, Nationwide, Coventry, Yorkshire and Clydesdale).

Virgin Mobile

On Virgin Mobile Pay As You Go, you can top-up a minimum of £5 each time. Top-ups can be made through any one of the six following methods:

By phone: You can top-up by calling 789 from your Virgin Mobile handset.

By text: You can top up by SMS text message if a credit card or debit card has been registered to your account. To top-up, send a text message to 789222 with the amount you’d like to top-up by followed by the last four digits of your registered card number and then the three-digit security code of the back of your card.

Electronic top-up card: You should have been given an electronic top-up card with your Virgin Mobile handset or SIM card. You can use this to top-up anywhere you see the green top-up logo.

Top-up voucher: If you can’t find your electronic top-up card, you can buy a Virgin Mobile top-up voucher code at any location where you see the green top-up logo.

Cashpoint (ATM): You can top up at UK cash machines supporting the feature providing you have a bank card from one of the following institutions: Natwest, RBS, Lloyds TSB, Allied Irish Bank, Nationwide, Co-op Bank, HSBC or Barclays.

Vodafone

On Vodafone, you can make a minimum top-up of £5 each time on a Pay As You Go account.

By phone: You can top-up by calling 2345 on your Vodafone handset.

By text: If you have a registered credit card or debit card, you can also top up by SMS text message. To do this, send a text message to 2345 saying TOPUP followed by the the amount you’d like to top-up by and then the last four digits of your registered card number.

Online: You can top-up through the Vodafone website (no registration is required for this service). You can also top-up your account through the My Vodafone app.

Electronic top-up card: You can pick up a Vodafone electronic top-up card from larger Vodafone stores. You can then use this card at any location with the green top-up logo to easily top-up your handset.

Top-up voucher: You can buy a Vodafone top-up voucher code at any location showing the green top-up logo.

Cashpoint (ATM): You can top up at any UK cash machine supporting the feature.

Anonsaid:

Hi there,
Thanks for your comment. This is clarified in the section for ASDA Mobile: you can only get the £1 top-up when topping up by phone or text message (using credit or debit card). For e-top up card and voucher, the minimum top-up is £5.
Hope this helps,
Ken

Esther cousinssaid:

This is a question ..
If you port your number from one network to another does it result in a poor signal?
How can i find out the best network connection in my area? I dont mind chaning my number as long as I get a good signal.

Hi Esther,
Many thanks for your comment. You’ll be pleased to know that number porting has no affect on the signal on your phone. You’ll get the exact same coverage as all other customers on your mobile network, including customers who haven’t ported their number in to that network.
Ken

Philsaid:

I ported my number from O2 to EE a few weeks ago. I purchased an EE sim card with the plan I wanted and as per request from EE, I topped up the new sim and activated the new plan with the temporary number ready to port my number across. I topped up at a local shop using the plastic swipe card containing the green top up logo.

The port went without without problem, but now I’m unsure if the top up card that came with the sim card will work again now that I have ported my number across. Are the top up swipe cards linked to the sim via the ling serial number or is it linked to the actual phone number? Can it be used again, or will I have to get a new one and link that to the number (ported) number?

Philreplied:

Thanks for the reply Ken. I tried what you suggested after the number had ported. I had a text come back saying that the card was already linked to another number. I’ve popped into an EE shop and picked up another card and have linked that.

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About Ken

My passion is helping people to get the most out of their mobile phone. I've been blogging at Ken's Tech Tips since 2005.

Aside from writing about mobile technology, I have an interest in software development, digital marketing and physics. Outside of the blog, I work with numerous technology companies helping them to market their product to consumers. Find out more.